Optimism and misgivings at Spurs as Villas-Boas is unveiled

Portuguese must overhaul squad after being installed as the new boss at White Hart Lane

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS will be unveiled as the new manager of Spurs today after flying into London to sign a three-year deal. And once the formal announcement is made and he has his feet under the table at White Hart Lane the Portuguese will begin the task of overhauling the squad.

"It caps a remarkable turnaround for the 34-year-old Portuguese who is highly regarded by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who immediately shelved plans to speak to another manager, such as the now former France coach Laurent Blanc, and will be tasked with eventually creating a younger team as well as qualifying for the Champions League," reports The Daily Telegraph.

To that end he is expected to announce the arrivals of attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim for £8m and the long-awaited deal to bring defender Jan Vertonghen to the club.

However, he has other issues to address, including the lack of strikers at White Hart Lane. There are only two recognised forwards on the club's books - Jermain Defoe and Giovani Dos Santos. And attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has indicated that he would be open to a return to Germany.

There is also the future of Luka Modric to decide. The Croatian playmaker has been linked to Real Madrid but the Telegraph says that there has been no firm offer for the player. The Daily Mail says Spurs will attempt to set up a swap deal with the Spanish club that would see Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain arrive in London.

But according to The Times, Villas-Boas will not have a free hand in the transfer market. "Tottenham are expected to return to a four-man transfer committee that operated under Martin Jol and Juande Ramos from 2004," reports the paper. "Daniel Levy, the chairman, is expected to be joined by the manager, Darren Eales, the director of football administration, and possibly Tim Sherwood."

The Times adds that the reaction of the fans will be one of "guarded optimism" over the appointment. "There will always be misgivings after the disharmony under him at Chelsea last term," it adds.